Installation of the PNG LNG Project’s 407-kilometre offshore pipeline is complete, after the two sections of pipe were recently connected.
This major milestone was performed by the Castoro 10 Shallow Water Lay Barge.
The pipeline was laid in two sections over eight months, using two vessels, one starting at Caution Bay, while the other started at Omati in the Gulf Province.
The Castoro 10 connected the two sections of pipe in an activity known as an “above water tie-in”, by lifting each end of the two pipelines simultaneously using six small cranes. The pipeline ends were then cut off, joined, and welded to form one continuous pipeline.
Once the tie-in was completed, the now-joined, single pipeline was lowered back into the water.
The next step in the pipeline process will be the hydrotest of the pipeline, which will check the integrity of the pipeline.
This will be followed by connecting the offshore pipeline with the 292-kilometre onshore pipeline, an activity that is expected to be completed later this year.
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Subsea World News Staff , July 26, 2012; Image: PNG LNG Project